Aki Boulanger

Here it is, finally!
The post Lina has been waiting for.
The post I have neglected for so long.

This is it, my first trip to Aki Boulanger! (which I made a few weeks ago, haha!)

Aki Boulanger, located on the corner of rue Sainte-Anne and rue Thérèse, is a small Japanese bakery I’ve fallen in love with.
My first thought, entering this bakery, was that it was crowded with French and Asians seated by the coffee tables outside and the tall seats inside. That first thought did not stay for long as I looked to my left and saw all the dessert displayed there. After an excruciating long time with indecisive thoughts and a little bit of a funny “conversation” with the clerk, I finally opted for a Mille-Feuille Aki. This of course accompanied with a Melonpan filled with crème de thé.

In case you wondered what my “conversation” with the clerk was all about…
She came up to me while I was busy eyeing those cakes and asked me something in Japanese. Being the stupid little girl that I am, I tried to speak to her in French. The only awkward thing about that was the fact that I couldn’t remember what “to look” was in French so the only thing coming out of my mouth at that time was “Je… …uh…”. I then decided to say it in English “I haven’t decided yet, I’m still looking” which she replied with something in French (I think she asked me what I wanted to buy, though my memory is a little bit fuzzy…). This is where I started doing this stupid hand signs where I pointed two fingers to my eyes and then pointed at the cakes, to sign the universally “looking” sign. This did not go well as the girl behind the counter started to move to get the cake I pointed at while asking me “stay here or to go” in French. “No, wait! I’m still looking” at which point, I think, she finally understood and left me alone for a while so she could attend another customer. Much to my dismay, I had already attracted some of the French customers’ attention and they were staring at me like some foreign monkey. AWKWARD.

The clerk was, of course, nice enough to not attend to me anymore and sent someone, who actually knew a little bit English, my way and I went happily out of there with my takeaway box and Melonpan in hand.

Although, I didn’t have time to devour them all right away and had to eat them the next morning and evening, they still tasted as good as ever. Which made me wonder how much better they must have tasted if I ate them the same day I bought them.

Melonpan with tea cream and tea leaves for breakfast.

The cute little takeaway box

Mille-Feuille Aki (green tea)

They should have more of these in other flavors like Yuzu but I still haven’t managed to track it down yet…

I’m still amazed that it survived the trip home. I walked around for ever to find a bubble tea shop with the takeaway box hanging on my index finger and a bag full of snacks and noodles in the same hand. You should be proud of me!

I like this place so much I might come back for more one of these days, this time “sur place” just so I can enjoy their cakes while sipping a macha au lait! Surely one of my staples before I muster courage to go to Sadaharu Aoki alone (I don’t want to scare my friends with my excessive shopping skills when it comes to good looking sweets). This one is, I think, less expensive and “closer” to me as Sadaharu Aoki (the main store) is located near Jardin du Luxembourg, which requires a lot of metro lines transfer. –> Too lazy for that 😛

If you ever wander into this neighborhood, do try to make a trip there! They’ve got breads and bentos as well so you might disguise that bento as an excuse to eat a lot of their dessert while you’re there! HAHA!

Aki Boulanger
16, rue Sainte-Anne
75001 Paris
Metro: Pyramides (Sortie 1: Ave. de l’Opera)
Opening hours: 7h30 – 20h30 (except Sundays)